Commissioner of Taxation
NOTICE OF A DATA MATCHING PROGRAM
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will acquire details of entities collecting and distributing music royalty payments for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years from the following sources:
- Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA)
- Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS)
- APRA New Zealand Limited
- AMCOS New Zealand Limited
It is estimated that records for more than 15,000 entities will be obtained, of which most will be individuals.
These records will be electronically matched with certain sections of ATO data holdings to identify non-compliance with registration, lodgment, reporting and payment obligations under taxation laws.
This program is called the music industry royalty payments data matching program and its purpose is to detect and deal with non-compliance with taxation and superannuation obligations within this industry. Its objectives are to:
- Develop a profile of the industry, including any risks and trends of non-compliance with taxation and superannuation obligations
- Tailor educational strategies specifically for participants in the music industry
- Identify cases for lodgment enforcement activities
- Detect instances of potential non-compliance, especially with:
omitted income
alienation of personal services income (i.e. passing income through an interposed entity to minimise tax payable on income derived from personal exertion)
- Ensure compliance with other registration, lodgment, correct reporting and payment of taxation and superannuation obligations
A document describing this program has been prepared in consultation with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. A copy of this document is available:
- at www.ato.gov.au/dmprotocols
- by sending an email to SpecialPurposeDataSteward@ato.gov.au with reference to the music industry royalty payments data matching program.
The ATO complies with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s Guidelines on data matching in Australian government administration (2014) which includes standards for data matching to protect the privacy of individuals. A full copy of the ATO’s privacy policy can be accessed at www.ato.gov.au/privacy